Air nozzle



July 29, 1958 J. F. KING, JR 2,845,303

AIR NOZZLE Filed Jan. 6, 1955 k 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR B gm m JWiLfunk,

. ATTORNEYS July 29, 1958 F. KING, JR 2,845,303

AIR NOZZLE Filed Jan. 6, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 N VEN TOR WM JWN XIii/KL ATTORNEYS y 29, 1953 A J. F. KiNG, JR 2,845,303

AIR NOZZLE Filed- Jan. 6, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet s July 29, 1958 J. FIKING,JR

AIR NOZZLE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 6, 1955 l 'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIA P HimATTORNEYS United States Patent Am NozzLE James E. King, Jr.,Winston-Salem, N. C., assiguor to The Bahnson Company, Winston Salem, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Application January 6, 1955, SerialNo. 480,224

5 Claims. (Cl. 29--62) I This invention relates to pneumatic cleanersfor use in fertile rooms particularly, and adapted to prevent lint andother light particles from accumulating on the textile machinery andalso upon the walls and ceiling of the room iii-which the textilemachinery is located.

In any textile operation, such as spinning and weaving, there isconsiderable lint in the air which is carried by the air currents andultimately deposited upon almost every surface in the room. Much of itclings to the walls and ceiling and a considerable quantity depositsupon and clings to the surfaces of the machinery itself. The lint doesnot blow oil easily and, if allowed to accumulate, there is always thepossibility that it will impair the operon of the machinery and alsocause defects to appear the teiitile itself which is being worked upon.The i'is particularly true with respect to looms wherein the yarns beingwoven lie close together in a horizontal pla e which make it mostreceptive to falling lint.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide animprovedblower nozzle capable of discharging a blast of air at a velocity highenough to break the lint and other particles loose from whatever surfacethey may be clinging to, the nozzle being so constructed as tocontinuously change thedirection at which the air blast is deliveredthereby effectively covering a rather wide area of the walls or ceilingof the room or the machinery I itself. 7

A more specific object is to provide a rotating nozzle which'di-rectsthe blow-off air at high velocity throughout progressively changingangles in such manner as will cover all surface areas in a hemisphere,the nozzle being considered as being at the center thereof.

y Another specific object is to provide a novel construction for anozzle capable of delivering a blast of air which sweeps through anorbital path over an area to be be swept at a continuously changingangle over a predeterrniued area.

Yet another objectis to provide a blow-off nozzle comprising. an elbowconduit divided transversely into two .rotatable sections and whereineach section is rotated about its base, and preferably at differentspeeds. In this manner the blast of air passing out of the discharge endof the elbow will be caused to change direction continuously and willcover all unit areas in a spherical surface such as, for example, ahemisphere, the nozzle being con- -s-idered as located at the centerthereof. Moreover, the

motion ofthe nozzle is preferably such as to avoid repetition of a setpattern of coverage for an extremely long period of time. Thisembodiment of the invention is particularly well adapted for cleaningoff the ceiling and walls of atextile room when built as a travelingcleaner primarily in the nozzle structure.

2,845,303 Patented July 29, 1958 movable along an elevated track aroundthe room above the machinery.

Still another object is to provide a blow-oil? nozzle comprising anelbow conduit divided transversely into two sections and wherein meansare provided for rotating the base section, i. e. the section into whichthe air is .delivered from the source such as a centrifugalblower, whilethe other section, i. e. the one from which the blast of air isdischarged, is held against rotation. As will become more apparent fromthe detailed description of a particular embodiment thereof, thisarrangement causes the air discharge section of the elbow to sweep fromside to side in a wobbly manner. This embodiment of the invention isparticularly well adapted to the cleaning 01f of a loom and the flooraround it when built as a traveling cleaner movable along a trackelevated above the loom, the track extending transversely and centrallyof the loom and the nozzle sweeping between limits from the center lineof the loom to the front and rear thereof.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages inherent in theinvention will become more apparent from the following typicalembodiments thereof to be described and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical, central section. of an embodiment of the inventionwherein each of the two sectionsof the elbow nozzle is adapted to bero'tated,the instant position of the nozzle sections depicted being suchthat the discharge end of the outlet section is directed horizontally;

Fig. 2 is an elevation at a reduced scale showing the nozzle in theposition illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is also an elevation showing another instant position of thenozzle sections wherein the discharge end of the outlet section isdirected vertically;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a section on line 66of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a vertical central section of a modified construction whereinthe base or inlet section of the elbow nozzle is rotated and the outletsection is restrained against rotation, the instant position of thenozzle sections being such that the discharge end of the outlet sectionfaces angularly downward and forward to the right in the plane of thedrawing;

Fig. 8 is an elevation at a reduced scale showing another instantposition of the nozzle sections with the inlet section rotated from theposition shown in Fig. 7 and wherein the discharge end of'the outletsection is now directed angularly downward and forward-but at a lesserangle and to one side of the plane of the drawing;

the inlet section rotated from theposition shown in Fig. 7 and whereinthe discharge end of the outlet section is directed vertically downwardin the plane of the draw- Fig. 10 is a section on line l010 of Fig. 7;

Fig. 11 is a section on line ll'11 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 12 isa section on line li -l2 of Fig. 7.

With reference now to the drawings and in particular to the embodimentillustrated in Figs. 1-6, it should first be made clear that theinvention is deemed to reside Consequently, the track and the blowermounted thereon for travelling about the room over the textilemachinery, the nozzle being of course connected to the discharge of theblower, have not been illustrated in the drawing. With thisunderstanding, the conduit 1 in Fig. 1 is intended to represent thedischarge end of a centrifugal blower, or other source of pressure 'air.Also, since' the embodiment of 'Figs. l-6 is particularly well adaptedto the blowing-oil of ceiling and wall areas it will be assumed that theoutlet conduit 1 extends in a generally upward direction. Conduit 1 maybe of any configuration in cross-section but has been illustrated ascylindrical since this is a most practical configuration for the purposeintended. The upper end of conduit 1 is seen to terminate in an inturnedflange 2 having connected to the underside thereof by circumferentiallyspaced screws 3 a circular frame 4. This frame, which can be made as acasting, includes a diametral web 5 which is enlarged at the centralportion thereof to establish a housing portion 6 for gearing and atubular hub portion 7 constituting a sleeve bearing for mounting twoconcentric drive shafts to be later described.

The upper face of the circular frame 4 is provided with a circular rib 8concentric with the hub portion 7 and which fits into a complementaryconfigured groove 9 formed in the base of the lower or air inlet section10 of an elbow nozzle. Section 10 extends through an angle of 45 and theupper edge thereof is provided with a circular rib 12 which fits into acomplementary configured groove 13 formed in the base of the upper orair outlet nozzle elbow section 14 which also extends over an angle of45. Fixedly attached to the outlet end of nozzle section 14 by screws 15is an extension 16 which tapers convergingly in the direction of airflow therethrough. However, it is to be understood that nozzle section14 and its extension 16 can be made integral, or the extension 16eliminated altogether if final tapering of the discharge end of thenozzle is not essential for a particular application of the nozzle.

It will thus be evident that the two 45 elbow nozzle sections make up a90 elbow when in the positions shown in Fig. 1 and hence turn thepressure air issuing upwardly at high velocity through conduit 1 through90 so as to be discharged horizontally through nozzle sections 14 and16.

As previously explained, each of the nozzle sections 10 and 14 isarranged for separate rotation about its base line, and preferably atdifferent speeds. To this end it will be seen that the interior of thelower nozzle section 10 is divided longitudinally by a diametral septumor partition 17 which is enlarged centrally of the section to establisha tubular hub 18 coaxial with the hub portion 7 of frame 4. An outer,hollow shaft 19 is mounted for rotation in a bearing sleeve 20 in thehub 7, the shaft 19 extending upwardly through hub portion 18 of thenozzle section 10 and being secured thereto by any suitable means suchas the keyed connection 22. Thus as shaft 19 is rotated so also will berotated the nozzle section 10, the latter being guided in its rotationby the rib and groove connection 8, 9 between the nozzle section 10 andcircular frame 4.

Journalled for rotation within the outer, hollow shaft 19 is an innershaft 23 which extends downwardly through the bottom of housing 6 forconnection to a source of motive power, not illustrated. The drive forshaft 23 may be a motor, or the drive may be constituted by a powertakeoff from one of the wheels of the carriage on which the blower andnozzle are mounted and which is propelled along an elevated track abovethe textile machinery, or the drive for shaft 23 may take the form of awheel running in frictional contact with the track as the blowercarriage is propelled, rotation of the frictionally driven wheel beingtransmitted through suitable drive shafting coupled to shaft 23.

The upper end of shaft 23 extends beyond the end of hub portion 18 ofthe nozzle section 10 and is connected by cross pin 24 to the drivingsocket 25 of a universal joint, it being noted that the septum 17 innozzle section 10 is provided with an opening 26 of sufiicient size toreceive the universal joint and permit the latter to rotate freely. Thedriven socket 27 of the universal joint connected to the driving socket25 by universal coupling 28 has secured to it by cross pin 29 a shaft 30which is journaled for rotation in a bushing 32 in another enlargedcentral hub portion 33 formed in the partition 17 at the air dischargeend of nozzle section 10. Shaft 30 extends into a central hub portion 34formed integrally with a diametral partition 35 in the outlet nozzlesection 14 and is secured to the hub portion 34 by means of a cross pin36. Consequently as the inner shaft 23 is rotated, rotation will beimparted to shaft 30 through universal coupling 28 and hence also to theupper, outlet nozzle section 14 about its base line, the nozzle section14 being guided in its rotation by virtue of its rib and grooveconnection 12, 13 with the lower nozzle section 10.

In the present embodiment, rotation of shaft 23 imparts rotationdirectly to the upper nozzle section 14, and shaft 19 which rotates thelower nozzle section 10 is coupled to shaft 23 by gearing preferablysuch that shafts 23 and 19 will rotate in the same direction but atdifferent angular velocities. Although either section of the nozzle canbe designed to rotate faster than the other, in the present embodiment,the lower nozzle section 10 rotates faster than the upper section 14.The gearing in the gear housing 6 is comprised of a drive gear 37mounted on and secured to drive shaft 23, an idler gear 38 meshed withgear 37, gear 38 being mounted on idler shaft 39, a second idler gear 40mounted on the idler shaft 39 above gear 38, and another gear 42 mountedon and secured to shaft 19, the gear 42 being meshed with idler gear 40.Gears 38 and 40 are connected together by pins 43 to rotate as one.Consequently as shaft 23 and hence also the upper nozzle section 14 isrotated about its base line, motion is transmitted through gear train37, 38, 40, 42 to shaft 19 and hence also to the lower nozzle section 10for rotation about its base line. The end result achieved by rotation ofthe two nozzle sections is that a high velocity blast of air isdischarged through the coned extension 16 at successively differentangles to blow off all unit areas in the hemisphere above the nozzle,the nozzle being considered as located at substantially the center ofthe hemisphere. Figs. 1 and 2 show the nozzle blowing in a horizontaldirection and Fig. 3 shows the nozzle when the direction of air blow isvertically upward.

It is preferable to have the air discharge end of nozzle section 14 movethrough a path such as will avoid repetition of a set blowing patternfor a comparatively long period of time. To achieve this result, themain drive gear 37 is provided with a number of teeth such as will notbe evenly divisible by the number of teeth difference, through the geartrain, between gears 37 and 42. If such were not the case, it can beeasily seen that a repeat pattern of air discharge from the nozzle wouldoccur every few revolutions of the nozzle. As an example, gears 37 and40 can have twenty teeth each and gears 38 and 42 nineteen teeth each,thus giving a two tooth difference between gears 37 and 42. Thus gear 42will progress two teeth on the rotation of gear 37 for each revolutionof the latter.

As previously stated, the nozzle and its blower can be mounted to travelalong a track in a textile room at an elevation above the machinery andthus effectively blow off with a high velocity air stream all unit areasof wall and ceiling located within reach of the hemispherical coverageof the nozzle. Alternatively, the blower and nozzle unit may be mountedto travel along the track blowing down on the textile machinery to sweepa downwardly directed hemisphere.

The modified embodiment illustrated in Figs. 7-12 embodies the samebasic principle as that illustrated in Figs. l-6 in that the nozzle isconstituted by two elbow sections one of which is rotatable relative tothe other. However in this modified embodiment, one of the sections, theair inlet section, is rotated while the other one, the air outletsection, is constrained against rotation. The result is to cause the airdischarge end of the outlet section to execute a sort of wobbly motionin a closed path. At one point of the path, which can be called the 0position, the air stream is discharged an'gularly downward and straightforward of the nozzle; at another point on the path represented byrotation of the air inlet nozzle section through 180 from the 0position, the direction of 'the discharged air stream is substantiallyvertically downward; at still other points on the path represented byrotation of the air inlet nozzle section through 90 and 270 respectivelyfrom the 0 position shown in the drawing, the air stream is dischargedangularly downward and to each side respectively as well as somewhatforward This arrangement makes the nozzle particularly well adapted foruse in clearing lint from looms when constructed as a traveling cleaner,the orientation of the track to the loom being such that as the cleanertravels along the track, the blower nozzle will sweep one side and thenthe other as it travels through its closed path.

With reference now to Figs. 7-12 and Fig. 7 in particular it will beseen that the air inlet conduit 45 to the nozzle depends verticallydownward from the pressure air source and, on the assumption that thissource is a centrifugal blower, the conduit 45 would constitute theblower discharge. Conduit 45 is preferably circular in configuration andthe lower end thereof terminates in an external flange 46 to which issecured by screws 47 a circular frame 48. Frame 48 is provided with adiametral web 49 having an enlarged tubular hub 50. Hub 50 contains abearing sleeve 51 for receiving a drive shaft 52, this shaft extendingthrough and beyond the hub for connection at its upper end to a sourceof rotary power, not shown. The lower end of shaft 52 is received withinthe upper end of a tubular hub 53 formed in a diametral partition 54that extends transversely through an air inlet nozzle section 55 in theform of an elbow, the latter turning the air through an angle of Theupper or base end of nozzle section 55 is provided with a peripheral rib56 which fits into a complementary configured groove 57 provided in thelower edge of frame 48.

Shaft 52 is secured at its lower end in hub 53 by a set screw 58, andthis shaft, together with the nozzle section 55 thus attached is held inthe position shown in Fig. 7

by means of a collar 59 attached to the upper end of shaft 52 by pin 60and which rests upon the hub portion 50 of web 49. Nylon felt washers 61can be used as shown between the lower face of collar 59 and hub 50 toenable better rotation of the drive shaft 52 and collar 59. Anothernylon felt washer 62 can be used as shown between hub 53 and hub 50 toestablish a slight running clearance for the rib and groove connection56, 57 between nozzle section 55 and frame 48.

It will be noted from Fig. 7 that the tubular hub portion 53 of nozzlesection 55 is also turned through an angle of 20 at its lower end andcontains a shaft 63 secured therein by set screw 64. The lower end ofshaft 63 extends beyond the air discharge end of nozzle section 55 andinto a bearing sleeve 65 in hub portion 66 formed on a diametralpartition 67 that extends transversely through an air outlet nozzlesection 68 in the form of an elbow, the latter also turning the airthrough an angle of 20. The upper or base end of nozzle section 68 isprovided with a peripheral rib 69 which fits into a complementaryconfigured groove 70 provided in the air discharge end of the othernozzle section 55.

The lower end of shaft 63 extends beyond the lower end of hub portion 66and is threaded beyond such end to receive a nut 71, thus securing thenozzle section 68 upon shaft 63. Nut 71 can be secured against backingoff by means of a pin 72 passing through the nut and shaft 63. Nylonfelt washers 73 can be used between nut 71 and the end face of hub 66 soas to ensure free turning of shaft 63 in bearing sleeve 65, and anothernylon felt washer 74 may be used between the adjoining faces of hubs 53and 66 of the two nozzle sections to establish running clearance betweenthe rib 69 on nozzle section 68 and the groove 70 in nozzle section 55.

As in the previousl described embodiment, the air. outlet nozzle sectioncan be provided with a tapered exte ib sion 75.

To constrain the outlet nozzle section 68 from rotating as the inletnozzle section 55 is rotated upon application of a rotative force todrive shaft 52, a pair of links 76, 77 are provided. One end of link '76is pivotally con nected at 78 to one side of frame 48 and the 'otheren'd of link 76 is pivotally connected at 79 to one-end of link 77. Theopposite end of link 77 is connected to the narrow side of nozzlesection 68 bymeans of aball joint 80. This linkage thus permits thenozzle section 68 to twist or wobble as the other nozzle section 55 isrotated. The wobble motion is due to the fact that as the drive shaft 52is rotated thus rotating nozzle section 55, the extended shaft or stud63 describes the surface of an imaginary cone but does not rotate aboutits own axis. The other nozzle section 68 being mounted on the stud 63in such a manner as to permit relative rotation between these twoelements, it is of course possible to restrain nozzle section 68 againstrotation which is done in the manner described above by linkage 76, 77.Since the stud 63 describes a conical path, that motion is thenreflected by a wobble motion of the nozzle section 68.

If it be assumed that the position of the nozzle as shown in Fig. 7 isthe 0 position blowing downwardly and forward at an angle of 40 to thevertical, i. e. the sum of the 20 angles of the two nozzle sections, itwill be evident that a rotation of nozzle section 55 from the 0 positionwill cause the other nozzle section 68 to be pointed 20 to one side and20 forward. This is the position shown in Fig. 8. Rotation of nozzlesection 55, from the 0 position of Fig. 7 will cause the nozzle section68 to be pointed substantially vertically downward, this position beingshown in Fig. 9. Rotation of nozzle section 55 through an angle of 270will cause nozzle section 68 to be pointed 20 to the opposite side and20 forward. One complete rotation of nozzle section 55 brings the nozzlesection 68 back to the 40 forward position depicted in Fig. 7 and thenthe pattern repeats. Movement of nozzle section 68 and hence also itstapered extension 75 is thus essentially a wobbly motion, with the airdischarge from nozzle extension 75 being delivered at successivelydifferent blowing directions to each side of the central forwardposition shown in Fig. 7 as the nozzle extension moves along its orbitalpath.

In conclusion, it will be understood that while the embodimentsdescribed are to be preferred, various changes may be made in theconstruction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:-

l. An air nozzle comprising air inlet and air outlet tubular sectionsconnected together and forming an elbow for delivery of airtherethrough, a first drive shaft arranged internally of and connectedto said air inlet section for rotating the same about its base line, anda second drive shaft concentric with said first drive shaft andconnected to said air outlet section through a universal joint.

2. An air nozzle comprising air inlet and air outlet tubular elbowsections connected together at their base lines and forming a combinedelbow for delivery of air therethrough, a first drive shaft arrangedinternally of and connected to said air inlet section for rotating thesame about its base line, a second drive shaft concentric with saidfirst drive shaft and connected to said air outlet section for rotatingthe same about its base line and a gear train interconnecting said firstand second drive shafts whereby rotary motion imparted to one of saidshafts will likewise impart rotary motion to the other shaft.

3. An air nozzle as defined in claim 2 wherein said gear train effectsrotation of said shafts in the same direction but at different speeds.

4. An air nozzle comprising air inlet and air outlet tubular sectionsconnected together and forming an elbow for delivery of airtherethrough, said sections being mounted one on the other to permitrelative rotation therebetween, said inlet and outlet sections eachincluding a transverse web providing a central tubular hub portion, afirst drive shaft extending through the hub portion of said inletsection and secured to the drive element of a universal joint, 21 seconddrive shaft secured to the driven element of said universal joint andextending into and being secured to the hub portion of said outletsection, a third drive shaft concentric with said first drive shaft andbeing secured to the hub portion of said inlet section, and a gear traininterconnecting said first and third shafts whereby rotative powerapplied to one of said latter 15 2,086,724

5. An air nozzle as defined in claim 4 wherein said gear train includesgear means effecting rotation of said first and third shafts and hencealso said inlet and outlet sections in the same direction but atdifferent speeds.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS513,167 Woodhouse Jan. 23, 1894 623,341 Speck Apr. 18, 1899 685,628Morris Oct. 29, 1901 2,082,330 Frede June 1, 1937 McAulay July 13, 1937

